Fenger fight brings call for 'national conversation'

October 07, 2009

The U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder came to Chicago Wednesday to address the issue of youth violence across the nation, bringing the weight of their offices but little in the way of funding or a plan to address it.

The visit came two weeks after the release of a video capturing in lurid detail the fatal beating of a Fenger High school student. That video prompted a national outcry as it made the rounds on national television and the Web, sparking the speedy response from the Obama administration.

Holder and Duncan met privately with a handful of Fenger students, parents and school officials Wednesday morning before holding a joint news conference with Mayor Richard M. Daley.

While the officials spoke in broad terms about the video sounding a public alarm, no one suggested specific public actions or solutions--beyond launching a "national conversation on values."